


The Strings That Lead Me Home

by Chloe_Hallow_Eve



Series: Black Paladin Lance [24]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Astral Plane, Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Blue Paladin Allura (Voltron), I Tried, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Langst, Self-Doubt, Shiro (Voltron) Angst, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 09:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12055968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_Hallow_Eve/pseuds/Chloe_Hallow_Eve
Summary: Shiro is brought home.





	The Strings That Lead Me Home

Shiro hated silence. It gave him time to think. But in the sea of nothingness it became hard to remember things, so even his mind grew quiet, especially when fighting for his life. But now that it was just him, he could start to piece together his time before this place. And he knew there was a before, there had to be. He needed there to be. 

 

It was difficult. The things he could remember first were his failures, his shortcomings, his unfulfilled promises and hurtful lies. He started to shy away from remembering. If he was like this, if shallow words and fruitless attempts were who he was, he didn't want to know that person. And yet, there was something that tugged at him to keep going. Something that told him he was better than his worst. Something that held him together and lead him to find answers. 

 

Like a bundle of strings, tying him to reality and showing him the way. 

 

And so, he followed them. 

 

* * *

The fact that they left Lance behind was numbed by the rush of saving Shiro. The preparations took all of their energy and attention, from creating the machine, to testing each Paladin’s mental state, to researching everything they could of the astral plane. From what they’d gathered, it wouldn’t be difficult to reach it with all of them there. 

 

The only moments they had to potentially allow themselves to feel the loss of their temporary Black Paladin was when they lie in bed. And yet, they didn’t. Everyone would be up for twenty hours and only get four hours of sleep, so no matter when they were allowed to get their four hours, they slept. They didn’t have time or energy to waste on regret. Even though the topic was hovering in the backs of their minds, they had the unspoken agreement that they would get Shiro back as quickly as possible first. 

 

But if you asked anyone who wasn’t close to Lance, they’d say the team was avoiding the topic and blocking their minds from thinking about it, whether it was conscious or not. 

 

With Slav’s help, they were able to make a transmitter that would send their spectral forms/souls/quintessence to the astral plane to retrieve Shiro. The day to carry their plans out came all too soon, and no one had time to mentally prepare. They were scattered, yet determined. 

 

Slav and Coran attached the wires and such to the headbands they had used on that first day of paladin training, slipped them onto their four remaining paladins, and lied them on the medical tables they had placed around the whirring device. Once Slav and Coran were given the go ahead, a sedative was injected, then the transmitter was put to use. 

 

There was a brief moment where they processed nothing but faded and glowing strings. Each person had one glowing string to help them cross planes and tied them to the physical realm. It was all so quick and sudden that no one had time to interpret this before they became conscious in a dark land. 

 

No, dark wasn’t the word. It was more colourless, with no definitive source of light. They could see themselves and each other perfectly, which hinted at there being nothing else near them for miles upon miles. They couldn’t feel the ground beneath themselves rather than be aware it was there. They looked at each other, frowns on their faces. 

 

“So, do we just, like, start walking and hope it’s in the right direction?” Hunk suggested. 

 

“Slav said our bond would guide us, whatever that means.” Pidge, frowning thoughtfully, fixed their glasses. 

 

Keith crossed his arms. “So if we all agree on the same direction then it should be good enough.” He paused, frowning into the distance. “On three, we all point a direction, and whichever direction has the most people pointing towards it is where we go.”

 

“That sounds awfully luck based.” Allura pointed out. 

 

“Well, we don’t have time to sit here and do nothing. Lance said he was here for a couple of vargas, but he was gone for a quintant and a half back on our plane. I say we do it.” Pidge looked everyone in the eye one by one. “So, on three.”

 

Allura and Hunk shared a concerned glance. They both weren’t sold on the plan, but Pidge was right. The longer they were here, the more risk they were at of not being able to go back. So, they counted to three, closed their eyes and pointed. When everyone opened them, they saw they were all pointing vaguely in the direction past Pidge and Keith. 

 

“Okay, that’s kind of freaky.” Hunk shivered. “Not that I don’t like the idea of you guys being able to just, y’know, sense where I am if I ever get lost or something, but it’s still weird. Especially since we’re pointing to where his place in Voltron would be.”

 

“It is a little too… telling to ignore.” Pidge didn’t look entirely comfortable with it either, but there was a determined gleam in their face that slowly reflected in the others. 

 

“I don’t want to think about that.” Keith’s nose wrinkled. “Let’s just…. Let’s just go.”

 

Allura was the first to begin walking. Two steps in, she felt something similar to the tug her magic gave when it was used in her gut. It was more powerful and upfront, though, knocking the breath from her lungs as everything faded for a split tick. Then, she was a couple of meters away. She heard The others yelp behind her. Allura took a moment to get her bearings, willing her head to stop spinning, then turned to them. 

 

Pidge’s eyes were wide, sparkling with curiosity. “Allura, did you just teleport? Did you do it with your magic? Do you have control over it yet?”

 

“Um,” was Allura’s eloquent reply. She didn’t think she had done that, not in the sense of her using her own magic, but she wasn’t sure how to put that into words. 

 

Hunk made a noise of understanding. “No, wait, I remember Lance,” he stuttered over his best friend's name, guilt clouding his features briefly, before he shook it off. “I remember Lance saying something about this when I asked about his time here.”

 

Pidge’s sparkle shifted, seeming more calculating. “Right! I remember. He said it was like walking, but wanting to go that direction on a mental and physical level, and the plane reacting to that. You don't teleport yourself, I think, the place we’re in senses intent and helps out.”

 

Hunk nodded. “I didn't really get it when he was explaining, but now it makes sense.”

 

“To be fair, I rephrased a lot. Lance was hardly that articulate.” 

 

Keith stepped forward cautiously, staring at Allura. On his second step, he was wrenched from his place and dumped a little behind the Altean. He wobbled, placed his hands on his knees, and took a moment to breathe. 

 

“Well, that proves that.” Pidge displaced next to them, only taking a second to orientate themselves. “It’ll cut down time to find Shiro. Come on.”

 

Keith nodded, straightened, and lead the charge. They’d find Shiro and bring him home. They wouldn’t- couldn’t- fail. Keith didn’t consider that a possibility for even a second. They’d find him, go back, and then do the same for Lance. And then they’d all be together again, as a whole. 

 

They’d all be a family again. 

 

* * *

Lance had expected to be put in a cell. Maybe something with glowing, electric bars, with no windows or beds or toilets. He expected it to be made of cold metal, and that he’d shiver each night after whatever they’d done to him, only in his undersuit. He expected to be starved, sleep deprived, tortured, maybe even killed. He expected to be able to hold out as long as possible, so his team could find him sooner. 

 

He hadn’t expected to be taken to a room, devoid of anything but a metal table. He hadn’t expected to be strapped tightly to it, his motion limited. He hadn’t expected to be almost completely stripped, only is pants remaining. He hadn’t expected to see Haggar come in on the first day. He hadn’t expected her to talk to him as if talking to a child instead of hurting him. 

 

If he had, maybe he wouldn’t have opened his mouth. 

 

“You’re clever. You knew what was to come, and chose instead to save your team. You know sacrifice is necessary. Such as, the sacrifice of information on your team for the release of our prisoners.”

 

Lance thought about it. He did. But inevitably, he clenched his jaw. If he gave away his team, the few lives he would save wouldn’t make up for all of the countless individuals that would fall to the Galra. It was hard, but he had to think about the many versus the few. 

 

“Your team can’t even form Voltron. How long do you think they’ll last on their own?”

 

Lance smirked. “Not for long.”   
  


Haggar paused. “What?”

 

“Not for long. They’ll have Voltron very soon.” He met Haggar’s eyes, grinning viciously. “And when they do, they’ll kick your ass faster than you can beg for your life you  _ pinche hijo de puta- _ ”

 

Lance screamed has Haggar slammed her hand into the centre of Lance’s chest, electricity cutting the noise short as he convulsed. She backed away a moment later, eyes burning coals. Lance hadn’t really expected her to know what he was saying, but then again, he didn’t expect every race to be able to speak English, so it wasn’t too far off to think they had a translator somewhere. He breathed raggedly, coughing a little here and there. His mouth was a desert. 

 

Haggar tapped her fingers along the table beside his leg. “So, they will retrieve the Champion soon, hm?”

 

Lance felt his gut twist. He’d said too much. He glared at Haggar, grinding his teeth. He couldn’t say anything from here on out, even if it was a come back. It was a sign of weakness, that he’d be willing to talk after long enough. 

 

Haggar watched his rage for a few more moments before turning. She glided out the door, shutting it behind her. They didn’t even bother to lock it. Lance banged his head on the table, closing his eyes. If he were Keith or Shiro, he would have broken out by now. If he were Pidge, he would have talked his way to freedom. If he was Hunk, he would have beaten the guards on the way here. If he were Allura or Coran, he wouldn’t have gotten himself in this situation to begin with. 

 

But he was Lance, and he had been stupid enough to allow himself to get captured. He was _so_ stupid. He was so, _so_ _stupid._

 

For once in a very long time, there was no lion in the back of his head telling him he was wrong. 

 

Lance bit back a sob. 

 

* * *

Shiro stared out over the horizon, brows furrowed. The tug was getting stronger in that direction, but he couldn’t see anything. Maybe he should follow it? But he didn’t even know where it would lead, and that could be dangerous. It could be that purple guy, back again, drawing him in so they could finish things once and for all. It could be something that would open the flood of memories he could feel at the edge of his mind, overwhelming and, possibly, painful. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know if it caused him pain. 

 

There was something, now, far away. He could see it, a blip getting closer slowly yet surely. The tug got stronger. Shiro watched, perplexed. The ‘it’ became ‘them’. The ‘them’ became people. The people became distinguishable, and Shiro could hear them. They were shouting his name. Shiro hadn’t heard anything in so long. 

 

The one in front’s features became detailed. Shiro startled. He was sure he’d seen him somewhere. But, where?

 

_ “I won’t be gone that long. Okay, okay, I get your point, you can stop giving me that look. But, seriously Keith, I’ll be back before you can say ‘Kerberos’, alright? Oh my god, I didn’t mean literally.” _

 

He hadn’t gotten back in time. 

 

_ “Keith, if I don’t make it, I want you to lead Voltron.” _

 

He’d put all that pressure. On a  _ kid.  _

 

Shiro didn’t want to remember anymore. But as his eyes went to the second figure, he was forced into another flash of memories. 

 

_ “Shiro, check it, this is my little sister, Katie. Ain’t she just the cutest? She’s like, wicked smart, we’re gonna keep a close eye on her. I told mom she’d have to keep Katie from hacking our ship to fly us back, haha! Guess you’ll just have to promise her you’ll get me home in one piece, huh, pilot?” _

 

He didn’t know where Matt was anymore. He couldn’t bring him home safely. 

 

_ “We’ll find them. I promise.” _

 

That had been so long ago. 

 

The other two brought situations to Shiro’s mind: the princess throwing him to safety; almost hitting Hunk with his arm when the man accidentally snuck up on him; leading his team awry. Shiro shrunk into himself. They shouldn’t be coming for him. He’d failed them consistently, they shouldn’t be running towards him. They shouldn’t be calling his name. They shouldn’t sound so hopeful and  _ desperate.  _

 

Keith reached him first, not bothering to slow down as he barrelled right into Shiro. He held tightly, face pressed into the older man’s shoulder. Shiro’s fingers twitched. He wanted to return the gesture, he wanted to  _ so badly,  _ he hadn’t felt anything so welcoming in so long, but he had to make sure they left, for their own good. 

 

The others stopped, thankfully, a few feet away. They stared at him with wide eyes, a couple pairs going glassy with tears. Shiro avoided looking at them. Keith let go after a moment longer, holding him at arm's length. 

 

“Don’t worry. We’re going home.” His eyes were ablaze. Shiro felt something break inside him, something he didn’t know was still alive, but he didn’t understand why. 

 

“Shiro, man, we’ve been doing okay without you, but it is so good to see you again.” Hunk wiped his eyes quickly. “We didn’t mean to leave you here for so long.”

 

“We did everything we could to get here right away,” Pidge explained, “but it still took a lot of time.”

 

Allura (was she wearing the blue paladin armour?) simply smiled, expressing her gratitude through her expression. It was the hardest to look at. 

 

“Now that you’re here, we can go back.” Keith started. “Things are a little different, but you’ll fit right in again-”

 

“No.”

 

Keith paused. “What?”

 

Shiro didn’t meet any of their eyes, staring off at what he guessed to be the horizon. “I’m staying here.”

 

The silence was deafening, like last time, but it held a weight that Shiro didn’t like. He cleared his throat to rid himself of the nerves, but it only stirred them. 

 

“You’ll be going back. I won’t.”

 

“Wh- the hell you are!” Pidge’s hands clenched at their sides. “Do you know what we had to go through to get to this goddamn point? We are not gonna go all this way just to have you say you’re not coming back! I’ll drag your ass back myself if I have to!”

 

“Shiro,” Allura took a step forward, “we can’t leave you here. Why would you want to stay? There’s nothing.”

 

That’s the point, he thought. There was nothing to mess up. 

 

“I’m sorry. You guys should start heading back. There’s no point-”

 

Slap. 

 

Shiro blinked, slowly bringing a hand up to his cheek. Keith stared him down, the determined relief transformed into barely contained rage. His suspended hand clenched and was brought back to the boys side. 

 

“You,” he spat, “you shut the hell up. Whatever is going on in your head, fucking fix it, because we’re bringing you home. We’ll stay here as long as it takes until you come with us. You’re my family, Shiro. You were my first family, and you expect me to just leave you here?”

 

Shiro stared back. He still couldn’t remember much, but small things were coming back. Small, good things. 

 

_ “Hey, you’re Keith, right? I’ve been told a lot about you. You’ve got a real talent for flying. Hey, hey, no need to get wound up. I just wanted to give you a few pointers. The simulator controls can sometimes be difficult, so I wanted to give you some advice. Sound good?” _

 

And he had. Keith had grown to be so much better than the best under his guidance. 

 

_ “I’m glad you’re back.” _

 

Shiro had been glad to be back. 

 

Glimpses of hugging Katie, sharing responsibility with Allura, watching Hunk cook, and softly correcting Keith when training arose. Nothing made a clear picture, not yet, but it was getting there. 

 

Apparently he had done some good. He’d make sure he’d do more as he went forward. 

 

Shiro took a breath, collecting himself for a moment. “You’re right. I’m sorry for saying those things. Let’s go home.”

 

Keith nodded, traces of anger remaining, but having calmed down considerably. Allura and Pidge both approached, giving him their individual hugs before Hunk wrapped him in a bone-crushing embrace. He wheezed out a chuckle. Yes, if he had these people to support him, he’d definitely be able to do good. There would still be doubt, he was even doubting himself at that moment, but now that he knew he was capable of not breaking the things he touched, he would be reassured. 

 

The tug died down, content. And as it did, Shiro felt more than saw multi-coloured lines connect him to the others. There was a roar loud in his ears, and before Shiro knew it, he was out cold. 

 

* * *

The paladins gasped as they woke up, one at a time. Hunk turned over and emptied the contents of his stomach. Pidge closed their eyes again, attempting to fall asleep. Allura and Keith slowly pushed themselves up, disorientated. They were back in the castle. But if they were, where was Shiro?

 

Keith’s eyes darted around the room, narrowing in on a figure leaned up against the machine. He jumped off the bed and raced to Shiro’s side, cupping his face in his hands. A bruise was starting to form on his cheek, and he looked exhausted, but he was there. He was alive. Keith let out a breath, allowing himself to relax. 

 

Allura and Keith wrestled Shiro into a pod, stepping back when they were done to watch him breathe. He hadn’t woken up yet. Coran reassured them, after giving them tight hugs, that he would be fine when he came out. That didn’t stop the anxiety from eating their stomachs. 

 

“We did it,” Keith breathed, disbelieving. 

 

Allura’s hand slid into Keith’s, a warm smile on her face. She allowed herself a moment of silence. 

 

“Yes, we did.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many things going on in my life, mainly university. I'm sorry this is so late! Though I'm happy with the result, so there's that. 
> 
> I had an idea for where Shiro went before season three came out, so I decided to stick to it. Hope it makes enough sense!
> 
> Thank you all for the amazing support, it means the world to me. I'll be seeing you. Until next time~!!!


End file.
